Franchisees set the ball rolling for T20 Global League player draft

Team think tanks are well in place to formulate their strategies ahead of the T20 Global League player draft over this weekend (26 -27 August 2017). Nearly 400 players from 10 countries have confirmed their interest for the player draft.

The franchisees, except for the Bloem City Blazers, have named their respective coaches as they workout combination and permutation for a combine with potential to win the inaugural league title. Former India all-rounder Robin Singh has joined the City Blazers as director of cricket.

Another Indian Sridharan Sriram is he Johannesburg Giants’ coach, while former South African captain Graeme Smith will start his new innings as the Benoni Zalmi coach.

Here is the coaching line up for the 2017 tournament:

Sridharan Sriram – Jo’burg Giants

Sridharan had a distinguished playing career, scoring almost 15 000 runs and taking 200 wickets across the three formats in Indian domestic cricket. He has a close connection with South Africa, having first come to light during the under-19 India tour to South Africa shortly after unity and having made his ODI debut against the Proteas at Nagpur in 2000. He later turned his hand to coaching and has worked as head coach of the Delhi Daredevils and has also worked with the Australian national side as a spin bowling consultant. He has a close friendship with Proteas video analyst, Prasanna Agoram.

Graeme Smith – Benoni Zalmi

Smith ranks as South Africa’s greatest captain of all time, having led the Proteas to the No. 1 Test ranking as well as double away series victories over both England and Australia. This is his first move into the coaching arena and his international experience over many years makes him the ideal candidate for the job.

Jacques Kallis – Cape Town Knight Riders

Kallis is South Africa’s greatest cricketer of the modern era and one of its greatest of all time. His statistics as a batting all-rounder are the best of all time and it is this all-round ability that makes him an ideal candidate as a coach. In this role he has already achieved a lot of success in the Indian Premier League.

Paddy Upton – Durban Qalandars

After a brief spell as player for South Africa’s Western Province, Paddy Upton has become a leading coach. He worked as an assistant coach to the Proteas, specialising on the mental side of the game, and in recent times has coached several Indian Premier League franchises with great success, as well as the Sydney Thunder in the Australian Big Bash League.

Mark Boucher – Nelson Mandela Bay Stars

As a player Boucher was the most successful wicketkeeper the game has ever seen with 999 dismissals across the three formats before his career was cut short by a tragic eye injury. He has since turned his attention to coaching where he has achieved immediate success with the Titans in South Africa’s domestic franchise competitions. He has also worked as an assistant coach in the Indian Premier League.

Russell Domingo – Pretoria Mavericks

Domingo has guided the Proteas through one of its most successful periods, first as assistant coach to Gary Kirsten and then as head coach. This included guiding the Proteas to the top of the Test rankings in 2012. When he stood down as head coach the Proteas were ranked No. 1 in ODI cricket and No. 2 in Test cricket. His recent performances including an away Test series win in Australia and a 5-0 whitewash in a home ODI series against the same opponents.

Stephen Fleming – Stellenbosch Monarchs

Fleming is arguably New Zealand’s best cricket captain of all time and is also their leading Test runs scorer of all time. His record as coach in the Indian Premier League with the Chennai Super Kings also makes him the most successful coach in the IPL.

Robin Singh – Director of Cricket, Bloem City Blazers

Singh played more than 100 ODI matches for India before embarking on a highly successful career as a coach. An outstanding fielder in his own right he served as fielding coach to the Indian side for a number of years and has also worked as head coach of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

The tournament will be held in November and December this year.

“The Player Draft is a major step forward for the T20 Global League, and the anticipation among players, coaches and owners is now clearly visible,” observed CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

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